Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams named top seeds for US Open

Johannesburg: World number one Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have been named as top seeds for the fourth and the final major of the season, the US Open, which will commence from August 29.

The American, who unsurprisingly took the top seed in the women’s draw after winning 33 out of her 38 matches this year, will be aiming to clinch her seventh US Open title and surpass Steffi Graff’s record of 22 major titles in the Open era.

Meanwhile, Djokovic will head into the fourth major with a record of 51-5 this year, which also saw him bag two Grand Slams in Australia and France, Sport24 reported.

Briton star Andy Murray, who clinched a grand slam in this year’s Wimbledon before winning a gold medal at Rio Olympics, is placed as second seed while Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and Milos Raonic make up the rest of the top five list.

Roger Federer will miss the tournament to protect his surgically repaired left knee.

For women’s singles, Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber takes the second spot followed by Garbine Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep.